Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have been listening and taking notes as both our members and guests spoke . I thank the guests for their input. I have written down a few key words but one thing that is becoming abundantly clear and is most important is the fact that we need an implementation programme for everything we talk about. I will go back to what Mr. Dolan said about the role of the Taoiseach's office in all this. We have enough reviews, committees, working groups and all these types of gatherings. A huge amount of people have brought forward parts of the problem within this area of disabilities. I have come across some of it myself. I do not know where to jump when I want to find out something because there are so many places one can go. Usually, one goes to five places before finding the place one needs to get the structure right.

Mr. Dolan alluded to the fact that when we had a jobs crisis, it was a cross-departmental issue. It was also targeted, however, by which I mean a plan was set out for five years with a target every year. There was a review every three months, however. The Minister in charge of it and probably one or two people in his Department, therefore, monitored what was happening on a quarterly basis. If something was not happening, they asked why it was not happening. It was flagged up with colours where red meant something had not moved and green meant it had moved and been achieved.

As my background is in project management, I like the term "project management approach". We need to set out a five-year implementation plan, not a strategy; we have enough strategies. There have been remonstrations. People said they spoke to the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, about the optional protocol. That can be done when something else is done. The question is who is doing that other thing to make sure the protocols are put in place.

From listening to the debate, the expression I would use is we have a fragmented approach at the moment. Too many organs within the State are doing bits and pieces. Somebody mentioned that a €5 million fund was announced this week for employment for people with disabilities. I did not know about it until I heard it today. Things are happening that we do not know about. We also need a co-ordinated approach to this in order that we know what to expect and when it will happen. Then, we as a committee can challenge why something is not happening if it does not happen on time. It goes back to that.

We have seen today, no more than any other time we meet witnesses, that we are learning more and more. I am, however, more drawn to the conclusion that we need to do what Mr. Dolan said and put pressure on the Taoiseach to put in place an implementation team with somebody at its head who will call the shots and ask why this and that is not being done. We need to bring together all the departmental officials to say this is our plan, this is how and when we will do it and then put the funding in place in order that it is achieved. The legislation that is required to change things should be put in place in a proper timeframe rather than waiting for somebody else to do something.

It has been very interesting to hear what the witnesses had to say. I can sense the frustration in everybody around these issues. We need to be able to say when we will be getting on the train and starting to move towards getting things achieved and ticking the boxes that have not been ticked. I said at the first meeting of this committee that my aim is to work to remove some of the things that I personally, as a politician, am not very proud of when it comes to disability services. There are issues we need to address very quickly. I thank the witnesses for their input and look forward to working with them to achieve what we are all trying to achieve, namely, putting the plan in place, with somebody at the head of it who will call the shots and get it done. The funding must be provided by Government and looking to the Taoiseach's office is the way to do that. When the Taoiseach says at or before a Cabinet meeting that he wants a report on something, he will get that report. We need to have a person at the top who will make sure this is a national issue rather than being segregated off and spread all over the place, with nothing being achieved other than frustration.